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Grantee Research Project Results

Tuesday,
May 13, 2002
EPA's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Grant Program Excels, According
to National Academy of Sciences Report

NCER
Staff Writer

WASHINGTON
(NCER) - The National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently
released a press
releaseand
a report entitled "The
Measure of STAR" in
which they
evaluated Science to Achieve Results
(STAR), a research grant and fellowship program in the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency. According to their report entitled
"A Measure of STAR," the program is outstanding when compared
to other similar programs. NAS says that the STAR program fills a unique
niche by supporting "important research that is not conducted or
funded by other agencies" and is "directly relevant" to
the mission of EPA. In addition, NAS states that STAR research results
have already improved the scientific foundation for decision making even
though the program is young and many of the projects have not yet been
completed.

The NAS report indicates that "STAR is funding many scientists with
outstanding credentials" who "have impressive research track
records and are leaders in their fields." In addition, the STAR grant
program has made commendable efforts to leverage funds by establishing
research partnerships with other agencies. NAS believes that the recently
reinstated STAR fellowship program is helping to build a stronger scientific
foundation for the Nation's environmental research and management efforts.

The NAS review of STAR began about two years ago at the request of the
EPA's National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), the office that
manages the STAR program. NAS was asked to evaluate the overall effectiveness
of the program and give measures to gauge both the quality of the research
and whether it is impacting and influencing decisions made in other parts
of the EPA (a standard practice for any scientific organization).

The NAS committee chose several specific research areas that were considered
"ready" for review including particulate matter and ecological
indicators. They also reviewed the STAR fellowship program. As part of
the review process, NAS held several public meetings, interviewed STAR
grantees and fellows, and asked questions of other federal agencies affiliated
with the program.

EPA's STAR program is a competitive, peer-reviewed, extramural research
grant and fellowship program created to encourage interagency collaboration
and increase EPA's access to the nation's best scientists and engineers
in academic and nonprofit research institutions. STAR supports research
in a numerous fields relevant to EPA's mission, ranging from human health
protection to environmental preservation.

The National Academy of Sciences is
a private, nonprofit society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific
and engineering research. Using the authority
granted to it by Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires
it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.

To learn more about EPA's STAR grant and fellowship programs, visit:
www.epa.gov/ncer. Copies of "The
Measure of STAR: Review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Research Grants Program" are available
from the National Academies Press; tel. (202) 334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242
or on the Internet at http://www.nap.edu.